Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Kidstuff...then and now
It was fun watching Reb enjoying the plastic balloon I bought her a week ago. Although the balloon didn't really last very long in her hands, I know she had a great time bursting them. She asked for more so I got her a couple more yesterday.I helped her yaya blow a couple of balloons and can't help feeling like a kid again as I was carefully blowing one after the other. Although I cannot take credit in blowing that large one in the picture, I kept it alive as long as I can despite Reb's attempts at squishing it and turning it into a hat. And when the balloon gives up on us, we do the classic thing...burst the remnant on her forehead. Now that made her laugh!
Let's see...aside from plastic balloon, the stuff that made childhood worth reliving are:
Games/Toys
1. Sipa (ang sakit nung tingga ha!)
2. Chinese garter (yeah...and got sprained in the process)
3. Tsinelas-lata (well, that was how my playmates called it that time)
4. Patintero
5. Paper dolls
6. Jackstone (both regular and chinese)
7. Pick-up sticks
Food (the junk ones, what else?)
1. ChocNut
2. Those cigarette-shaped bubble gums...made us feel like smokin' adults
3. Colored popcorn sold outside churches
4. Tira-tira (are these still available today?)
5. Cotton candy
7. Horlicks that my Mommy bought us once in a while
8. Pop rocks (but I doubt our dog loved this product at all)
9. Dip Pop (that lollipop you dip into some flavored powder)
10. Chinese White Rabbit
11. Jack & Jill (when they were lording it over the school canteens)
12. Popsicle
13. Magnolia Chocolait delivered to us in a bottle
14. Banana Split
And while we are in the mood for reminiscing, how about the cartoons I love watching?
1. Wait Till Your Father Gets Home
2. Funky Phantom
3. The Funny Company
4. Popeye
5. Wacky Races (who can forget Penelope Pittstop and Motley?)
6. Casper
I admit though I am not such a fan of superheroes and didn't really got bitten by the Voltes V and company bug but I did like Mazinger Z and Aphrodite A (mag-on ba talaga sila?).
Looking back, how different were the kids' food, toys and shows of yesterday from those of today? For one, Jack & Jill now have more competition in the form of Oishi, Rebisco, etc. We now have more hi-tech battery-operated toys and highly interactive cartoons both on tv and in computers.
Yet I do believe that how the child sees the world never changes. The cartoon characters may change, the junk food may take on different forms and brands and the toys may now be computerized but the joy they bring to a child is the same...and that is pure and simple joy.
For me, what is important is that my kid continues to be amazed at the new things that she sees, gets or experiences. Whether it is a hand-me-down toy from yesteryears or Dora the Explorer, I'm hoping that her childhood experience will be one that she will cherish and laugh about when she's an old fogey.
